Week 5: So I bought some colts tickets.

I think it is safe to say that I have learned a lot about football in the past few weeks.
While I haven't learned a lot content wise, I like to be a part of cheering! I also like to study how people interact and talk to each other (hence the Masters degree in Interpersonal communication) Football just provides so much interesting information about people. Why they like who they like, why they dislike who they dislike. Tom Brady? Good or bad?

It's also SUPER interesting listening to people get upset when I tell them I am a Colts fan and not a Lions fan. (However, I AM a Lions Fan, I mean, hometown pride and all.)

I also like to spoil my boyfriend. So December 15th (his birthday and 5 days after mine) we are going to see the Colts. I don't know if I can express how strange it is to say that I bought Colts tickets. I remember in the past I would want to shoot myself in the face if anyone made me watch the Colts (or football in general.) I think I used to be too worried about my reputation as a woman and an academic. I grew up with the idea that football was for people who couldn't read, and weren't educated. Where that idea came from, I have no idea. But now things are very different. I really have Fantasy to thank for that.

also, something that was very different about this week, I WON BY A LANDSLIDE! BY 53 POINTS!!!!

I struggled with starting Ray Rice because he was coming off an injury - BAM 23 points

My kicker Justin Tucker - 18 points! I didn't know kickers could do that!

Jason Witten - 23 points also.

Also my Defense is STELLAR!!! 15 points this week and I didn't lose any of them like in week 3.

I think that down side was I didn't play T.Y. Hilton and he scored 30 points.

Now T.Y. Hilton has been a puzzle to me all season. The weeks I start him, he does nothing. The weeks I don't start him, he is a freaking rock star. He is all kinds of inconsistent in my books (or maybe I am just bitter)

Once again the other teams QB played below their predicted points, Kaepernick score 12 of his 19 predicted points. (I am hoping this doesn't happen to Andrew Luck soon).

Week Four: I've got the eye of the tiger!!!!!

Damn that Katy Perry song. It's been in my head for ages and it also allowing my to gloat unnecessarily. Because week 4 was a win, but just barely.

Week three I complained about losing by under a point, oh how the tides had turned!

Week 4 I won by .22 of a point.

Really there are two men I can dedicate this win too, the first is Sproles, or as I call him, Darren. He rocked and scored almost 30 points in my league!!
One thing I enjoy about working at a golf course is that the TV is always on sports. So I get to watch football and work. I started out in the lead, then lost it Sunday night. I was okay with losing. I went out and I really accepted that I lost. I accepted that loss with grace too! I thought, hey something amazing needs to happen, since I only had one person playing Monday night. It was Darren, and Darren, you delivered.

The second man I have to thank for this victory is Eli Manning. Bro, what's wrong. You only put up 9 points, they predicted 17! You lost 31 to 7! I am worried about Eli. I mean, don't get me wrong, thanks for not doing better but seriously, you need to do better.

I then sang this song for like 3 days in a row.

How to talk football - Part 1

Last Monday as I my heart broke from Fantasy Football, I sat in the bar with my friends and boyfriend watching the game.

Monday nights are a special night for my social group because traditionally its has been dollar beer night. Since our regular bar became condemned, we have become Monday Night Nomadic Travelers, seeking out dive bars, looking for cheap beer and of course, football.

well about half of us are looking for football. My friend Bitter Amanda (and fellow blogger) isn't really a football fan. However I want her to join the women's league I am planning on forming next season. So any pointless football knowledge I find online (football fashion) I send to her. She adds her own things too

However last Monday. We came up with the very very best question for someone who isn't into football to ask during a game, and that question is "Is there a flag on the play?"

It works in almost all situations.

Situation one:
Everyone watching football around you cheers! Something good happens! You respond with a tentative "is there a flag on the play?" If there isn't - that's good news! How smart of you to check! If there is - hope its for the other team, but if not, at least you were smart enough to check before getting too excited.

Situation two:
Everyone watching football gets upset. Something bad has happened! You respond with an upset "is there a flag on the play?" If there isn't - that's upsetting, you were just being hopeful. If there is - good for you for being so perceptive, that other team must have done something wrong while upsetting your friends/family.

Situation three:
The people you are around just happen to have the game on TV. But no one is really giving it 100% attention. You offhandedly ask "Was there a flag on the play?" If there is - it doesn't really matter. If there isn't - Once again it doesn't really matter.

After awhile, you can up the details to your question.

For example "Was there a flag on the play? I bet it was a personal foul" Don't know what a personal foul is? That's okay. Neither do I, but I still ask.

Was there a flag on the play?
Yes
Is that a personal foul?
Yes, yes it is Tom Brady

Week Three: Just a bit too busy for football..

This week for Fantasy Football was a bit hectic.
Thursday night was my friend's bachlorette party. We got crazy in Detroit and got to watch very little of the game as we were bar hopping.
Friday was the rehearsal and dinner.
Saturday was the Wedding. It was beautiful. My handsome boyfriend was in town to enjoy it with me. We danced, the wedding was lovely and my friend Tricia was stunningly beautiful.
Sunday my boyfriend and I got to snuggle and watch football together. Something we never get to do since we rarely get to spend weekends together.

Then MONDAY I GOT ROBBED!!

I actually feel like Tyra Banks right now.

BE QUIET, FANTASY FOOTBALL! BE QUIET! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? STOP IT. I HAVE NEVER IN MY LIFE YELLED AT A FANTASY FOOTBALL TEAM LIKE THIS!!! WHEN MY MOTHER YELLS LIKE THIS IT'S BECAUSE SHE LOVES ME! I WAS ROOTING FOR YOU! WE WERE ALL ROOTING FOR YOUR! HOW DARE YOU? LEARN SOMETHING FROM THIS!

I lost. AGAIN but this time by .04 of a point. .04!!!!!

Final scores were 98.26 to 98.30. Yahoo later adjusted my score down (for some reason I haven't figured out yet) to 97.58

I lost by 4 yards. FOUR FREAKING YARDS.

Then my Defense had some CRAZY SHIT happen to it.

So my defense is Cincinnati. They scored 18 points, then I looked back and they had 12 points. Mr. Anderson explained to me that the Cincinnati defense intercepted the ball. Then fumbled, recovered and then scored a touch down. The NFL and Yahoo were determining how those points would be rewarded. I guess after Cincinnati fumbled and then recovered it was no longer considered the defense playing but the offense?

I also made the mistake of not playing Josh Gordon. I picked him up early but he was still suspended for the first two games of the season. (he had codine in his system after a drug test). Instead I played Steve Smith and Reggie Wayne (who collectively scored just under 14 points). T.Y. Hilton scored a whopping 2.3 points.

I guess the colts are changing their offensive strategy from a passing to a running game. I don't actually know what that means but its messing with my points and I want it to stop!!!!

Week two: This week is so much like my first boyfriend

Ouch. Ouch. Ouch.

This was a disappointing week for the Night Terrors. We lost. Big time. By almost 50 points.

Jason Witten who was amazing last week only delivered 2.7 points. Reggie Wayne? 7.5 points.

Ray Rice has a hip injury and he is my top running back. He only scored 4 points!

Martellus Bennet was the only saving grace of this week with 23 points.

The very worst was that the QB I played this week was Michael Vick. Shit head, dog fighting Michael Vick. He scored 37.22 points against Andrew Luck who only scored 20.64 points. I got knocked into the 11th position on my league because of that.

I really felt that this week was like my first boyfriend.

You have a small crush on a guy with some nice hair, and low and behold he asks you out (drafting). It's all exciting! It's fresh and new. YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND (Fantasy Football team)! You flaunt it to your friends (winning team). You tell everyone about them (players and your win). Then suddenly, you realize you don't really like that guy (football), you just the idea of having a boyfriend (or team). You don't really see eye-to-eye on some things (who starts and who doesn't) and some of their behavior is embarrassing (how they play).

When you are young and you fall out of like with a guy you break up with them.
When you are playing fantasy football and you fall out of like with your team, that is what they call fantasy football.

Mr. Anderson told me, if I was getting pissed off I was doing fantasy football right.

I guess I am doing it right this week.

RECAP
NIGHT TERRORS ARE NOW 1-1
lost 86.44 to 136.42

First weekend "I have created a monster!"

OH MY GOODNESS!! FANTASY FOOTBALL!! WHY ARE YOU SO AMAZING!?!?!

Andrew Luck? AMAZING

Jason Witten? AMAZING!

Montee Ball? Not so much...but IT'S OKAY because this is so much fun!

As B-Rad said to me today "I have created a monster" and it might be true.

Thursday was just a rough day for me and real life bullshit is getting in the way of my football enjoyment. We were so busy at work that night that even though the TV was on in the club house I didn't really get to watch anything that was happening with the Broncos and the Ravens. So I only caught the last quarter of the game while laying on the couch being depressed about the state of things. n

I was upset because I took a risk in my line up that didn't pay off.

I spent about 30 minutes debating who my flex should be. I decided on T.Y. Hilton. Then when I talked to scuba Steve he said it was smarter to play a running back. So I switched Hilton for Montee Ball, and that was the wrong decision.

Montee Ball got the ball a fair bit in the 4th but he couldn't get through the defense at all! He earned me 2.40 points and damn it sucked.

I was feeling really discouraged. Yet as B-Rad and the Boyfriend kept saying, there is still a lot of football to be played. B-Rad also reminded me that it's better to trust my gut then take advice from someone else.

FINALLY it was Sunday. B-Rad and I both roll into work both of us hung over. Both of us a bit down trodden. Until I reminded B-Rad that its sunday! I swear he actually inflated!

I absolutely hate that yahoo predicts and give percentages of who is going to win because all day I was predicited to lose. At one point I had a 15% chance to win, then i have a 50% chance to win, then I had a 20% chance to win! It was an emotional roller coaster!

Believe it or not, my saving grace was David Wilson. He sucked so badly (-2.4 points) and was on my opposing team. He made Ball seem a winner with his two points.

Also Jason Witten is a beast.

So I won my first game of fantasy football and I am addicted.

I meant to post this before Thursday but things have been so busy. Between my friend getting married next weekend and the Museum I volunteer at having a party the following week I just haven't had the time.

However this upcoming week I am once again the underdog. I rotated my roster, pulled Ball, put my back up tight end in as my flex and we'll see how things pan out.

A break from fantasy football - to talk about Peyton Manning.

I think that my boyfriend (and almost all men in/from/around/ever associated with Indiana) love Peyton Manning.

I understand I didn't grow up watching the Colts or Football. I understand he has had some excellent commercials. I understand that he helped to made the Colts a great team and helped to earn them a lot of money. That money they used to build Lucas Oil Stadium (worst Stadium name ever?) and all this other stuff for the Colts.

However I think I finally understand this whole Peyton Manning mythic.

Traditionally I have struggled with people who partake in celebrity hero-worship. It bothers me how often people take the time and brain space to think about people who they will never meet or who will never think of them in return. Wasting time reading about who is wearing what and who is banging/cheating on who is like brain rot. It provides nothing to actually promote an intelligent conversation with another person. If all you ever do is read/listen/pay attention to meaningless things, doesn't that make you meaningless?

However, I think people don't think of Manning as a celebrity, I think people see him more as a wizard.

I spent a lot of time reading Harry Potter. Not just as a child either. So when I say wizard, I really mean amazing fictional character.

Harry Potter gives you a young boy who has a interesting set of difficulties, a background that he as to live up too, a few fantastic friends and 4,100 pages (American Hardcover editions excluding Tales of Beedle the Bard and HP texts) of action, adventure and drama.

Manning has football background that he has to live up too (football DNA really) and an interesting set of difficulties (parts of his spine are fused together!), a few fantastic friends (once the Colts, now the Broncos?) and the most important element a bunch of games fulls of action. Hours of distraction for people who are forced to deal with everyday life.

I use Harry Potter as an escape when life is just too freaking hard to deal with. When I have had a shitty week, work has been rough or someone is being a diva I typically find myself in some layer of the HP universe (book, movie, fan fiction, or movie sound track). Peyton Manning is the every day person's Harry Potter!

So, I guess I have to be patient when my boyfriend rambles on about how AMAZING Peyton Manning is. How he is a true athlete and a champion and all that jazz because Manning is almost fictional!

I will just have to start talking more about Harry Potter.